Insects, acarina and mollusks destroy growing and harvested crops. In the United States alone, agronomic crops must compete with thousands of insect and acarid species. In particular, tobacco budworms, southern armyworms, two-spotted spider mites and slugs are especially devestating to crops.
Tobacco budworms cause tremendous economic losses in agronomic crops. In particular, budworms devastate cotton crops by feeding on green bolls. Control of budworms is complicated by their resistance to many common insecticides, including organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. Also, budworm larvae are difficult to control with currently available insecticides once they reach the third instar.
Two-spotted spider mites attack many plant species, raspberry plants for example, by removing sap from leaves. When raspberry plants are heavily infested, canes and leaves become stunted. With a severe infestation, fruiting canes are damaged, resulting in reduced yield and fruit quality.
In spite of the commercial insecticides, acaricides and molluscicides available today, damage to crops, both growing and harvested, caused by insects, acarina and mollusks still occurs. Accordingly, there is ongoing research to create new and more effective insecticides, acaricides and molluscicides.
Certain pyrrole compounds are known to possess insecticidal, acaricidal and/or molluscicidal activity (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,047 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 392,495 filed on Aug. 11, 1989; 621,162 filed on Nov. 30, 1990; 776,967 filed on Oct. 15, 1991; 795,407 filed on Nov. 20, 1991; 803,289 filed on Dec. 4, 1991; and 971,025 filed on Nov. 3, 1992). However, none of the pyrroles disclosed in those patent applications are within the scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide N-substituted carbonyloxyalkylpyrrole compounds which are highly effective for controlling insects, acarine and mollusks.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for protecting growing plants from attack by insects, acarina and mollusks by applying to the foliage of said plants or to the soil or water in which they are growing an insecticidally, acaricidally or molluscicidally effective amount of an N-substituted carbonyloxyalkylpyrrole compound.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description thereof set forth below.